Are you sure about the plating? that it wasn't simply galvanized?
If your soil is acidic, you want to use galvanized or tin or aluminum
coated products. If it is base or alkaline, copper is the choice. As a
general rule, the eastern part of the US has acidic soil whereas the
western part of the country is alkaline. You can actually do a pH test
using the kits obtainable from a pool/spa store. Dig down to the area
where your grounding system will be (generally 6-18" or more depending
on how far the soil freezes during the winter). Take some dirt from there
and put it in the test tube with some distilled water, shake it up, and test
with the strip.
73
Bob AA0CY
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From: ValErwin@aol.com[SMTP:ValErwin@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, November 20, 1999 6:03 PM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Steel Ground Rods
Towertalkians:
All this talk of grounds rods brings up the following local curiosity: In
the local area (Dallas/Ft. Worth) several of the local power companies and
their contractors seem to use cadmium plated steel 6 ft. ground rods as
opposed to the Cu-plated variety. (The cad finish was confirmed by a power
company contractor.)
Has anyone ever had any experience with these for amateur use? Comparative
performance?
One thing that I found very interesting was that prior to building my new
home, the contractor but up a temporary power pole and called the power
company to hook it up. When the power company showed up, they sank one of
these 6 ft. Cad-plated ground rods and hooked up the temporary power
meter/outlet box for the builder.
After the home was finished, the ground rod was left sticking up, waiting to
poke a hole in my tractor tire. So, I took an old car jack and removed it. I
was amazed that despite the fact that the rod had been in the ground for
close to 9 months, it was not rusted and the cad-plating had only slightly
lost it's sheen.
Hmmmm--
Val
W5PUT
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